Race in the 21st Century

Ethnographic Approaches

Second Edition

John Hartigan, Jr.

What is the state of race relations in the U.S.? Are we making progress toward ending racial discrimination and prejudice? What, exactly, does "race" mean?

In Race in the 21st Century: Ethnographic Approaches, Second Edition, John Hartigan, Jr., takes an anthropological look at such questions by introducing students to the study of race through qualitative methods. In the first text to take an explicitly ethnographic approach, Hartigan summarizes and explains the current state of social science knowledge on race in the U.S., motivating students to think through essential questions about race in relation to their own lives. In contrast with many texts, Race in the 21st Century focuses not on essential differences between racial or ethnic groups, but rather on the commonalities. Hartigan concentrates on the particular contexts in which people actively engage and respond to racial meanings and identities. In this way, he encourages readers to think critically about the meaning of race.

New to this Edition:

A new chapter on "Postracial America" examines contentious arguments about whether or how race still matters in the U.S. today

Race in the 21st Century

Ethnographic Approaches

Second Edition

John Hartigan, Jr.

Description

What is the state of race relations in the U.S.? Are we making progress toward ending racial discrimination and prejudice? What, exactly, does "race" mean?

In Race in the 21st Century: Ethnographic Approaches, Second Edition, John Hartigan, Jr., takes an anthropological look at such questions by introducing students to the study of race through qualitative methods. In the first text to take an explicitly ethnographic approach, Hartigan summarizes and explains the current state of social science knowledge on race in the U.S., motivating students to think through essential questions about race in relation to their own lives. In contrast with many texts, Race in the 21st Century focuses not on essential differences between racial or ethnic groups, but rather on the commonalities. Hartigan concentrates on the particular contexts in which people actively engage and respond to racial meanings and identities. In this way, he encourages readers to think critically about the meaning of race.

The second edition of Race in the 21st Century features a new chapter, "Postracial America," which examines contentious arguments about whether or how race still matters in the U.S. today. It engages students fully in the important question of what "postracial America" might mean or look like.

Table of Contents

Chapter 2: Race, Culture, and Ethnography Fundamental Features of Racial AnalysisEthnographic Perspectives on RaceCultural Dynamics of RaceAmerican Culture in Three WordsAntiracism and EthnographyEthnography of Antiracist WorkshopsAnother View from DetroitHow to Listen to "White Talk"Combining an Attention to Race and Culture

Chapter 3: Race and Nature: Culture, Biology, and Genetics What is Nature?Totemic IdentitiesRacial Classification(Mis)Uses of BiologyRace and DiseaseRacial Health DisparitiesUnderstanding Genetics and CultureThe Controversy over Genes and RaceGenes and Culture: A ResolutionConclusion

Chapter 4: Understanding WhitenessObjectifying White PeopleWhat is Whiteness?Whiteness and DiscourseWhiteness as a Subject of StudyStudying White People in Everyday LifeLocating Whites in the Social LandscapeClass and Race: Bringing Greater Specificity to Whiteness

Chapter 5: Understanding Blackness Objectifying Black PeopleWhat is Blackness?Blackness and DiscourseBlackness as a Subject of StudyStudying Black People in Everyday LifeLocating Blacks in the Social LandscapeClass and Race: Bringing Greater Specificity to Blackness

Appendix A: Taking It to the Field: Analyzing Race in a Cultural Framework

Appendix B: Prompts for Ethnographic Research

GlossaryReferencesIndex

Race in the 21st Century

Ethnographic Approaches

Second Edition

John Hartigan, Jr.

Author Information

John Hartigan, Jr. is Professor of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin and the Director of the Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies. He is the author of What Can You Say? America's National Conversation on Race (2010), Odd Tribes: Towards a Cultural Analysis of White People (2005), and Racial Situations: Class Predicaments of Whiteness in Detroit (1999).

Race in the 21st Century

Ethnographic Approaches

Second Edition

John Hartigan, Jr.

Reviews and Awards

"This well-organized and engaging text consistently pushes my students to reconsider deeply held convictions about how race and racism are performed as lived experience, and how they can yield to critical, ethnographic inquiry. Hartigan does an excellent job of locating race as one of the foundations of cultural interpretation and performance and of framing questions relevant to student experience and contexts."--John Bodinger de Uriarte, Susquehanna University

"Hartigan's work in this book is unique as he fully reviews contemporary ethnographic literatures on race--I know of no other text that does this. He also strikes a nice balance in tone and register. His writing is sophisticated but he uses language that is accessible to most undergraduates. It is an excellent resource for teaching critical thinking skills and deconstructionist perspectives on race."--Miranda Hallett, Otterbein University